Business Commons^™

Small Business Owners' Strategies For Success, Ovuefelomaloye London Onyenego

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses represent 99.7% of all employers in the United States and account for 63% of new jobs; however, 50% of small businesses fail within 5 years of operation. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that some small restaurant owners used to succeed in business for longer than 5 years. The sample population for the study was the owners of 3 small restaurants in the northeastern region of the United States who have a minimum of 5 years' experience in operating a successful business. Chaos theory provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data collection …

Cultural Backgrounds And Leadership Styles In The Virtual Work Environment, June Reid

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The introduction of the virtual work environment has resulted in the creation of a new work structure where interaction between employees and leaders occurs through technological innovations such as teleconferencing, emails, and text messages. The absence of physical workspace has also created a diverse work environment with people from various cultural backgrounds working together as virtual teams. Existing studies have been conducted on leadership styles and culture in the traditional work environment, but few empirical studies have been conducted on leadership styles and culture in the virtual work environment. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental survey study was to identify …

Financial Advisors' Marketing Strategies To Minorities, Jonica Rowland

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Independent financial advisors face challenges with successful marketing strategies as competition from web-based resources, large U.S. financial services, and wealth advisors' corporations increase. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to understand financial advisors' perceptions, experiences, and marketing strategies to improve their companies' sustainability by targeting a broader population base, including minorities, who need assistance with retirement planning strategies. Consumer culture theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Purposeful sampling was the basis for selecting 7 financial advisors from the mid-Atlantic region of the United States for face-to-face interviews. Semistructured interviews with open-ended questions were used to identify …

Strategies For E-Commerce Adoption In A Travel Agency, Anita Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2016, online travel sales increased 8%, resulting in profits increasing to over 565 billion U.S. dollars. Traditional travel agencies in brick-and-mortar storefronts are facing challenges related to competing with online travel agencies (OTAs), attracting new customers, and retaining existing customers. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the e-commerce processes, business models, and strategies that leaders of traditional travel agencies use to compete with OTAs. The study sample consisted of 8 travel professionals from 3 small travel agencies located in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The conceptual framework for this study was Rogers's diffusion …

Moderation Of Emotional Intelligence On Leader-Member Exchange And Resistance To Change, Michelle Hinnant Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Approximately 70% of change initiatives fail to achieve the anticipated outcomes, and resistance to change is continuously cited in the literature as 1 of the most common reasons for change failure. Researchers know that emotions play a role in change but do not know how emotional intelligence affects the relationship between leader-member exchange and reactions to change. Grounded in Oreg's multidimensional resistance-to-change model, leader-member exchange theory, and emotional intelligence theory, the purpose of this study was to narrow the gap in knowledge of how emotional intelligence influences the relationship between leader-member exchange and resistance to change. A correlational, cross-sectional design …

Direct Supervisor Influence On Nurse Engagement, Kelly Elaine Tapp

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurse engagement is essential for organizational success. If organizations can engage nurses, they may be able to improve organization and patient outcomes. The purpose of the evidence-based practice project was to use current evidence of direct supervisor influence on nurse engagement to create an educational program for clinical leads to use in their interactions with direct reports. The relationship-based care model was used as a framework for the project, and concepts included work engagement, nurse engagement, recognition versus meaningful recognition, professional development, communication, transformational leadership, and authentic leadership. Before and after attending the education program, clinical leads were given a …

Market-Entry Strategies Of Startup Owners, Evgeny Tsaplin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Russia's startups fail at high rates. The purpose of this multiple case study was to understand the market-entry strategies used by accelerated startup managers to succeed in business longer than the first 3 years. The target population for this study was 3 startup owners who completed an acceleration program from the Internet Initiatives Development Fund and continued to operate businesses that generated revenue. The participants in the study were located in 3 different cities in Russia: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Tomsk. The conceptual framework for the study was Raheem and Akhuemonkhan's theory of enterprise development and von Bertalanffy's general system …

Strategies For Building And Retaining A Productive Multilevel Marketing Downline, Ranelli Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Most multilevel marketers lose money and quit within the first year of operations because of a lack of effective strategies for building and retaining a productive downline. The purpose of this multiple case study was to apply Cantillon's entrepreneurship theory to explore strategies used by 3 multilevel marketers from 3 different multilevel marketing companies with operations based in New York. Participant selection was purposeful and based on the number of years the participants had been in multilevel marketing and their generated income. Data collection occurred through semistructured interviews with open-ended questions of the participants and a review of company training …

Strategies For Reducing Employee Turnover In Retail Outlets, Dewayne Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover in the retail industry is costly, difficult, and problematic, affecting organizational wages, benefits, and schedules in relation to serving clients, customers, and stakeholders. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore effective strategies used by retail store owners in the southeastern region of the United States to reduce employee turnover. The target population was 6 successful business owners of 6 small retail businesses in the southeastern United States who had effectively reduced employee turnover. The conceptual framework for this study was the Herzberg 2-factor theory related to workplace job satisfaction. Data were collected through face-to-face, semistructured …

Human Resource Management Strategies For Small- And Medium-Sized Enterprise Project Success, Armstrong Matthew Alexis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Critical success factors that contribute to project success in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have received insufficient attention in research. Guided by the goal-setting conceptual framework, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the human resource management (HRM) strategies used by owners of SMEs to achieve project success. Five owners of SMEs in St. Lucia participated in the research by contributing their experiences in using HRM strategies to achieve project success. Data were collected from SME owners using semistructured interviews, and from observations and analysis of company records. Data were manually analyzed using Yin's 5 phases. Five …

Sustaining A Family Business Beyond The Second Generation, Donna Wells Austin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A significant number of funeral homes in the United States are family-owned businesses. These family-owned funeral businesses contribute to society throughout generations to create wealth, provide employment opportunities, and serve the communities that surround them. The purpose of this descriptive multiple case study was to explore strategies that leaders of family-owned funeral business owners in the eastern region of the United States used for intergenerational succession planning. Game theory was the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 3 family business owners and review of the family businesses' professional association websites and family historical documents. …

Strategies Small Business Owners Use To Decrease Voluntary Employee Turnover, Rose Mary Carter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Decreasing employee turnover among small businesses is a problem because employee turnover is costly and adversely affects business owners' ability to gain and maintain a competitive advantage. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that small business owners use to decrease voluntary employee turnover to remain competitive. The target population was composed of small business owners located in the southeastern region of the United States who used strategies to decrease voluntary employee turnover. The conceptual framework for the study was Herzberg's 2-factor theory. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 4 small business owners and review …

Strategies To Reduce Employee Turnover In The Hotel Industry, Brendan Cronin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hotel leaders face reduced profitability because of high employee turnover. Using Herzberg's 2-factor theory as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that some hotel human resources managers used to reduce employee turnover. Data were collected from 5 hotel human resources managers in Massachusetts through face-to-face, semistructured interviews and a review of company documents. Data analysis using Yin's 5-step process of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and developing data-based conclusions resulted in 3 emergent themes: a retention strategy, a compensation strategy, and a training and development strategy. The findings indicated that the employee recruitment …

Instructional Behavior And Its Impact On Student Engagement, Debra Joan Crumpton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this quantitative study was to expand understanding of leadership behaviors and their influence on follower engagement. Researchers have shown that engagement is a predictor of retention and organizational performance. Leadership theory and the conceptual framework of worker engagement were the study's theoretical anchors. Despite a proliferation of leadership studies, engagement antecedents are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to narrow the gap in the literature by examining the extent to which there may be a relationship between college instructors' behaviors and student engagement. Although not traditionally regarded as frontline leaders, extant leadership literature affirmed college …

Strategies For Improving Technology Startup Capital, Inibehe Eno-Adams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Funding is one of the most critical resources high potential technology startup (HPTS) ventures need to achieve success. Some startup founders lack access to capital, a critical resource for HPTS founders to create value for customers and capture value for their organizations. Capital constraints can hinder business performance, endanger growth and the ability to grow and scale into the global markets. This multiple case study explored the strategies HPTS firms used to access capital to grow and scale into global markets. Mishra's venture capital investment model and Blank's customer development model served as the conceptual framework for this study. Data …

Strategies Insurance Leaders Use To Reduce Sales Agent Turnover, Jacqueline Evans

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High turnover of new sales agents costs insurance leaders millions of dollars and adversely impacts profit margins. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the retention strategies that insurance leaders from central New Jersey used to reduce sales agent turnover. Study participants included 5 insurance leaders with sales management experience ranging from 3 to 5 years. Job embeddedness theory was the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected via semistructured interviews, company reports, and archival records. Using thematic analysis, the data were examined and coded and generated 4 key themes: recruiting and selection process; value of …

A Grounded Theory Of Emergent Leadership In Nonhierarchical Virtual Teams, Randall Fleming

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A Grounded Theory of Emergent Leadership in Nonhierarchical Virtual Teams

by

Randall David Fleming

MS, Colorado Technical University, 2008

BA, The Ohio State University, 1984

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Management

Walden University

November 2018

Exploring Possibilities With Professionals On Youth Aging Out Of Placement, Karen L. Garrett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Homelessness with youth aging out the child welfare system has proportionally risen over the years. It is important that policy makers, professionals, and practitioners in the field of foster care understand the conditions youth find themselves in at the time of leaving placement. The purpose of this study was to describe problems that exist for youth aging out of foster care. Post placement outcomes have not generated results that suggest youth are thriving as they return to communities. Attachment Theory outlines relational bonds that form with caregivers when youth are entering and exiting placements. This qualitative study collected data from …

Leadership Strategies To Increase Employee Engagement, Christine Garza

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sixty-five percent of small business leaders indicated a lack of workforce engagement practices as an administrative strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of employee disengagement. Guided by Weber's organizational theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies some leaders used to increase employee engagement. Five small business leaders in the southwestern United States participated in semistructured interviews. The participants employed successful strategies to increase employee engagement. Data collection included the review of company documents, face-to-face interviews, and member checking to explore successful strategies to increase employee engagement. Data analysis included coding and organizing data and information …

Strategies For Reducing Professional Turnover In Information Technology, Brett Grosshans

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The information technology (IT) industry workforce in the United States is expected to increase by approximately 50,000 jobs through the year 2024, creating opportunities for employees to change jobs if they are not satisfied. Replacing talented IT professionals can cost a business as much as 150% of the salary of the outgoing employee. The purpose of this descriptive single case study was to identify strategies successful IT business leaders used to reduce voluntary turnover among IT professionals. The research population was 4 leaders from an IT business in southeastern Virginia, who oversee supervisory and hiring. The conceptual framework was Herzberg's …

Strategies Used By Retail Store Managers To Engage Customers, Jefferson Lee Haddox

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Between the years 2013 and 2016, e-commerce sales grew as a percent of total retail sales in the United States from 5.8% to 8.5%, an increase of $129 billion. Some brick-and-mortar (B & M) retailers struggle with maintaining the historic levels of revenue in their stores. A multiple case study design with retail store managers was used to understand what factors engage customers to shop at B & M store locations. The consumer-dominant value creation logic was the conceptual framework. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 5 retail store managers in Texas who demonstrated successful strategies for engaging customers …

Strategies Certified Project Management Professionals Use To Prevent Counterproductive Behavior, Lisa Annika Christin Hansson-Vazquez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Project managers who fail to apply strategies to prevent counterproductive work behavior in information technology projects could negatively affect users, budget costs, timelines, or projects. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that project managers used to prevent counterproductive work behavior that put project success at risk. Social learning theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through document review of published Project Management Institute (PMI) material as well as semistructured interviews with 10 project managers who were members of a PMI chapter in the southeastern United States, and who held a project …

Strategies To Reduce Information Technology Employee Absenteeism In The Manufacturing Industry, Camilla Henry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee absenteeism costs organizations billions of dollars annually in losses in revenue and productivity, temporary labor costs, and low morale. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies information technology (IT) managers in the manufacturing industry used to reduce employee absenteeism. The theory of planned behavior provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data collection included semistructured interviews with 5 IT managers in Maryland and a review of organizational documents addressing nutritional education information, employee participation rates in health programs, and physical activity. Data were analyzed using compilation, disassembly, reassembly, interpretation, and development of conclusions. …

Strategies For Increasing Volunteer Engagement In Nonprofit Healthcare Organizations, Sanja Katina Hudson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Implementing effective strategies to address the challenges of volunteer engagement is critical for helping ensure the sustainability of nonprofit healthcare organizations. Nonprofit healthcare leaders seek strategies to increase the volunteer workforce and enhance volunteer engagement. Through the conceptual lens of Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory, the strategies nonprofit healthcare leaders used to reduce volunteer turnover were explored in this single-case study. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with 5 nonprofit healthcare leaders from a single organization in the southwestern United States. Analysis of internal and external organizational documents and publicly available data were manually coded and thematically organized. The use …

Small Business Profitability Strategies In The Music Recording Industry, Jeanelle Lemol Murray-Noel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With the rise of digital technologies, consumers can stream music content, which has made it more difficult for music companies to be profitable. Small business owners in the music recording industry in the West Indies have found this trend particularly challenging, affecting their profitability. This multiple case study explored the adoption of disruptive technologies by small business owners in the music recording industry to increase profitability. The research population included 5 small business owners in the music recording industry in the West Indies who successfully adapted to the changes in the industry's business model and whose businesses are profitable. Christensen's …

Association Of Insider Trading Patterns With Earnings Management Citations From 2002-2012, Anne-Mary Emuobonuvie Nash-Haruna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Insider trading and earnings management (EM) have traditionally been associated with fraud and corporate scandals. Corporations involved in fraudulent financial reporting or earnings manipulations were assumed to have used insider trading patterns to manipulate earnings, thereby concealing information from investors. The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to examine the association between insider trading patterns and EM citations among a randomly selected sample of publicly traded companies. The research question pertained to the association between the number of EM citations and whether a firm exhibited patterns of insider trading among publicly traded firms. The theoretical framework was based on …

Marketing Strategies During The Product Life Cycle In The Pharmaceutical Industry, Natasa Naneva

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Development and implementation of effective marketing strategies during various stages of product life cycle in the pharmaceutical industry are critical to an organization's successful performance in the marketplace in the 21st century. Guided by the general systems theory developed by Bertalanffy and the evolutionary systems theory developed by Laszlo and Laszlo, the purpose of this single case study was to explore best practices among marketing managers within pharmaceutical companies related to marketing strategies during various stages of product life cycle. Data were gathered via semistructured interviews with 3 purposefully selected managers who have successfully developed marketing strategies in a central …

Barriers To Women Leadership Of Small And Medium Enterprises In Nigeria, Roseline Iruoma Ojinta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Management literature lacks a deeper understanding of barriers to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) leadership among women entrepreneurs in Nigeria focusing on women leaders' daily business experiences, their agency, and their entrepreneurial context. Women in Nigeria seeking promotion to leadership roles in SMEs continue to look for answers on how to surmount the multiple barriers hampering their leadership aspirations. To address this need, this study was designed to explore how women entrepreneurs in Nigeria describe barriers to SME leadership through narratives about their daily business experiences, their agency, and their entrepreneurial context. The women's entrepreneurial development in Nigeria, the Nigerian …

Relationship Between Job Embeddedness And Turnover Intention Of High School Math Teachers, Cynthia Davis Osowski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teacher turnover has been a problem in U.S. public schools, especially among math teachers, and is more prevalent in schools that have a majority of students from low-income families. Teacher turnover has been shown to have a negative effect on student performance. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to investigate on-the job and off-the job embeddedness and its dimensions of links, fit, and sacrifice to determine effects on math teacher turnover intention. The theory of job embeddedness provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from 152 high school math teachers from 17 counties in a western …

Successful Strategies Ministers Use To Obtain And Manage Foundation And Government Grants, Rebecca I. Payne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ministers need a strategy for applying for the millions of dollars in grants available to churches for programs that will benefit communities. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that Christian ministers use to obtain and manage government and foundation grants. The conceptual frameworks were an emergent strategy and the ladder of accountability. Data were gathered from semistructured interviews with 4 Christian ministers in New York State and reviews of sample monthly and quarterly grant accountability reports. Selective coding was the data analysis process. The 3 major themes that emerged from the data analysis were …